Transaction processing within a retail fueling environment conventionally includes interaction between a customer and a fuel dispenser. The customer typically presses certain keys on a user interface provided on the fuel dispenser to provide input for a transaction. Output is provided to the customer by the user interface in response, typically via a visual display. The customer authorizes payment for the transaction by either communicating with an attendant situated at a point of sale (POS), or by swiping a credit card at the fuel dispenser, also referred to as “pay at the pump.” The customer dispenses fuel and interacts with the user interface of the fuel dispenser to complete the transaction. The fuel dispenser user interface and control interface are resident on the fuel dispenser within these conventional systems. An example of such a fuel dispenser interface is the card reader in dispenser (CRIND®) equipped fuel dispenser manufactured by Gilbarco Inc., the assignee of the present application.
These conventional fuel dispenser interfaces provide a specifically designed user interface that varies according to the brand and their system designers. For example, a user interface provided on an ExxonMobil® branded fuel dispenser may be different from a Chevron® branded fuel dispenser. This user interface also often varies within different retail fueling environments based upon the fuel dispenser and other retail transaction devices (e.g., a car wash kiosk) installed. Further variations occur based on the selected programming options for the fuel dispensers.
For example, within certain retail fueling environments, the customer may automatically receive a receipt for the transaction without being prompted from the user interface. Within other retail fueling environments, the customer may be required to specifically respond to an inquiry provided by the user interface to receive a receipt for the transaction. Based upon the fuel dispenser programming, this receipt inquiry may be presented at the beginning of a transaction or at the end of the transaction. Furthermore, a customer's native language and the language provided by the user interface may not be the same. As such, the customer may not know when a response to an inquiry is required. In essence, the complexities of different user interfaces present varied transaction experiences for the customer among different retail fueling environments.